My student Liza asked me this week about good ideas on ways to make money for a pianist just starting their career. While it’s always challenging to get paid as a musician, there are a few good spots to start that usually need musicians (even less experienced ones) and pay okay to really, really well.

First, a little strategy work: as a beginner musician, it’s probably best to have a two fold approach to your career:

1. In the long term, your focus should be where you want to be in about 5-10 years (i.e. touring, developing your artist persona to the point where that’s your main gig, etc). All things should ultimately support this goal, and if you can make money in the short term by developing your skills as a musician, great.

2. To earn short term money, you want to capitalize on work that more experienced musicians either don’t want to do, or don’t have the time to do. Most of your early paid opportunities will be in the areas that have the lowest supply of qualified musicians.

With that in mind, here are 5 ways to start making money using your piano skills:

1. Weddings

My very first gigs were playing at weddings, and while they were stressful (if you make a big enough mistake, the bride and groom remember it for the rest of their lives) they pay really well. Average pay 12 years ago for ceremony music and a brief reception was often $250+, and often times I wouldn’t even have to bring my own keyboard.

Upsides:

Weddings are great for teaching you to perform under pressure, creatively make last minute changes, and learn pieces well enough to play flawlessly under stress.

Downsides:

The downside to weddings (and the reason more pro musicians don’t play them) is the time commitment and gear requirements. Most weddings now book a minimum of 6 months in advance and are almost always on weekends, which can interfere with other gigs you might get that would support your long term goals. Also, many weddings require you to bring a keyboard with amplification which can be expensive initially.

How to start:

Word of mouth is always your best tool, but there are many, many websites now that offer great opportunities for wedding gigs. I’d recommend googling “wedding piano gigs” to find the most updated list, but here’s a couple that I’ve tried and liked in the past:

https://www.gigsalad.com/Solo-Musicians/Pianist

https://www.thebash.com/services/piano

2. Private events

Another early gig for me as a solo pianist was playing at private events. At 17 I started by talking a local coffeeshop owner into letting me play for two hours in the middle of the day for tips only. I’d usually make just enough to cover gas, but learned a lot about how to translate songs to piano in a live setting.

About a year into playing at the coffeehouse I was approached by a hotel manager- would I be interested in playing nightly at their cocktail bar in the hotel? Pay was $15 an hour, and I thought I was doing amazing. I spent another two years playing 5 nights a week in the bar.

Not long after I was able to find a local booking agent who booked country clubs, and I quickly went from playing at the bar to weekends at country clubs, where pay was $100-$150 an hour. In one particularly busy holiday season I remember bringing home almost $10,000 in revenue from just playing solo piano at holiday parties.

Upsides:

Background piano music is mostly ignored, which gives the perfect opportunity to hone your chops (as long as it’s appropriate) and experiment in a low pressure environment.

Downsides:

The hours can be long, and it can be very challenging at first to find the gigs that pay well. It took me almost 4 years of playing before I was able to make substantial money playing private parties. As with #1 suggestion, it really helps if you have your own keyboard and amplification to start.

Where to start:

Look around your area for places that already have music, and see if you can start playing there even if it’s for free. Many restaurants, hotels, and coffeehouses (especially independent ones) are open to anything that will enhance the experience, especially if it’s relatively low cost for them. You can also try the websites above for potential private gigs.

3. Piano lessons

I had a friend’s mom in high school beg me to give him lessons (yes, that was as weird as it sounds), and I finally gave in my junior year despite feeling massively under qualified to teach. I’ve been teaching some private lessons ever since, and found it to be one of the most rewarding things I’ve done as musician. it also pays well, usually between $30-$50 an hour.

You might feel under qualified to teach, but remember that as long as you know more/are a better and more experienced pianist than the student you’re teaching, you can bring value to lessons. I strongly recommend that you’re upfront about your abilities with students and parents, and pass off students who you’re no longer qualified to teach to more experienced musicians.

Upsides:

Unlike other music gigs, teaching can be extremely flexible and work around other long term opportunities. Teaching also forces you examine your own skills and assumptions, which makes you a better player.

Downsides:

I spent almost 5 years teaching before a had a studio of 10 students, which means I wasn’t making much money at first. It can take quite awhile to develop your teaching skills to the point where you attract committed students.

Where to start:

There are a few websites available for teachers, but most websites I’ve found are a little exploitive in their fees. I recommend just asking friends and family if they know anyone looking for lessons, and sharing it on your social media profiles that you’re looking for students.

4. Sync licensing

Sync licensing is when you create music for film, TV, commercials, video games, or interactive media (VR, etc) . This is the one area that I’ve not spent much time in personally, but have seen dozens of other young musicians see success in. If you can get it to work right, it’s possible to get a slow drip of revenue coming in every month, with the occasional big windfall.

Upsides:

If you’re a composer, you’ll be able to take the work you do on your long term goal and marry it to your short term goals of making money. Also, it’s a virtuous cycle- the more you compose and the longer your back catalog, the bigger the payouts each month.

Downsides:

You’ll need to have quite a bit of technical know how to do this job, including access to a fast computer with a good DAW (I recommend Logic X). Like teaching, the skills you need to have to create good sync content may take awhile to build.

Where to start:

I’d recommend starting out with a company that has a built in audience but pays on the low side so you can build your chops. Here’s a few that are excellent if you can be a part of them:

https://www.soundstripe.com/music-licensing

https://artlist.io/

https://www.musicbed.com/

5. Release Your Own Music

It’s completely possible to get a small trickle of income each month from groups like Spotify and Apple Music. While the individual amounts may be very small, the long tail of the revenue can add up. I still get a $40 check in the mail each year from one project I worked on 15 years ago. With enough projects out there over time, it’s possible to potentially pay rent on a small apartment with royalties.

Upsides:

By releasing music you’re helping to directly achieve your long term goals, and recording software has never been cheaper or easier to use.

Downsides:

It’s easy to release crappy music that will come back to haunt you later in your career (don’t ask me how I know). It also can take years of work to build up an artist persona to the point where streaming revenues make any significant amount for you.

Where to start:

I’d recommend just getting a recording system and jumping in, spending as much time as you can recording and actually finishing songs. Don’t release anything until you’ve done a few that you’re proud of, then start showing friends. If they like it, try releasing your stuff on a music platform with a distribution website like www.cdbaby.com or www.distrokid.com.

Final Thoughts

An important final thing to consider: it might make more sense for you to find a job that doesn’t involve the arts, and use it to fund your long term goals as a musician. There’s no shame in that, and it can actually be much less stressful in the long run than constantly freelancing. Whatever you do, get people around you that support and encourage you, and you’ll end up doing great regardless of what choices you make. Good luck!